Virginia is a hotbed of Czech and Slovak folks – who knew?! Evidently, hundreds (thousands?) of people, because they were all in Prince George today for the annual festival. It was very Central European, meaning lots of cabbage rolls and polka. Mmm mmm good! Joe dug it, and we did too.

Joe is participating for the second time in a VCU program called Virginia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. Through Va-LEND, people who will be working in healthcare are paired with families that include kids with intellectual disabilities to give the future pros a taste of what the families experience.

I like to imagine it was a cut-throat, Hunger Games kind of thing where a remarkable young woman named Joyti defeated a herd of pretenders for a chance to work with our boy. It was more likely just smart work on the Va-LEND team’s part. Either way, Joyti has now earned a spot on Team Joe – another terrific person who will grow and mature under his tutelage.

Tonight she beamed in for a quick visit. The iPads were cracklin’ with mutual admiration. Welcome to the team Joyti!